2001 Audi A6 Quattro 3.0 from Iceland

Summary:

Break downs aside... Good car, but the auto transmission is a let down

Faults:

Well the thing is, when I saw this car for sale, it was in horrible shape. I tried it, and there were a lot of things wrong. I took the car for a test drive, and told them I would be going to an independent garage to have them check it out better before I got it. When I was done, there was more bad news to report. I told the owner about the things that were wrong, and he lowered the price down by $2500, and I bought it, so here are the thing I got fixed:

Something in the front right wheel.

Driver's door stuck.

Passenger front and back left windows were broken.

Engine had an oil leak, leaking down into the spark plugs.

Paint was in very bad shape; got it all polished; made it better, but still pretty bad.

I also made them change the oil in the engine, auto transmission and the quattro system. Also changed the oil filters on the engine and gearbox.

The car feels really solid to drive, but soon after I got it, I got all the things fixed, but there are still 2 things wrong:

Number 1 is the check engine light came on. I went and the computer reported 3 different errors.

1. Detecting oil leak.

2. Power supply low - which makes no sense; battery is good, and it is charging plenty 14V.

3. And I don't remember.

And number two thing is:

When I make a sharp turn to the right or left, or just take a turn at high speed, something seems to be sliding in the front of the car, and then hitting something. I cannot detect where it is coming from, but it's at least in the front of the car, and I can feel the shake when it hits whatever it's hitting. The sound is really loud, depending on how fast you are going, and it sounds really nasty!

Also the seat memory does not work, along with the CD player.

General Comments:

OK, now for the car.

This car is fantastic!

First of all, the power is a little on the weaker side, but it's okay, it's still a fast car.

The car is also fairly heavy; 1.8 tonnes, which is a lot! So the engine is struggling a little with the weight and the quattro system, and it shows on the economy. To fix this, Audi have tried to improve the economy a little by gearing it down and keeping the revs low, but it's not working, at all! It's just making the gearbox seriously annoying; it's changing gears constantly to be economical and I have to keep the gearbox in Sport, just to suit my driving style. The thing is, I think the gear changing would be okay if the changing was not so jerky; seriously, if you keep the car in Drive and floor it, you feel it knock into gear! And also if the car is in too low revs and you want to get up a hill, but it seems to be better if you keep it in Sport mode and the traction control off.

Another thing I like to say is that when taking off at lights, stepping on gas and going has just too much delay. I realize that this is a 4x4 automatic car, but still. It helps to take traction control and put it in Sport mode. I just hate the gearbox on this thing.

The car is extremely good to drive, and the quattro gives is a very crispy acceleration. The gearbox is not so bad when you just floor it when you take off. Also, cornering just offers so much grip and confidence, comfort is very good, and space is not a problem.

17th Jan 2013, 06:34

I sold it for a loss about 1.5 years ago. The sliding sound was actually the motor sliding in the mounts. The motor mounts were ruined. I would not recommend this car to anyone unless it is in MINT condition, but you should still expect some trouble.